British Wrestling has received recent reports of concerns from parents and coaches around the practice of weight cutting in children participating in wrestling activities and competitions.
Wrestling, like most combat sports, is a weight-controlled sport which means that when athletes compete it is based on their body weight. Within British Wrestling we operate the 10% rule in the youth age brackets meaning there are no fixed body weight classes to cut for. Wrestlers are assigned a weight category based on their weight on the day of competition within a 10% range of the lightest wrestler. This means there is no performance advantage in cutting weight and therefore no need to cut weight. The Sport Technical Committee adopted the practice of the 10% rule to avoid excessive weight cutting as it has many negative implications on the development of young wrestlers.
Dangers of Weight Cutting
Some weight loss techniques used by athletes can be very harmful and cause many severe health complications for the athlete. Therefore, it is vital that there is more awareness of these harmful practice’s athletes may be using (or being asked to use) in order to reduce their body weight for competitions.
Damaging weight loss methods to look out for include:
- Body fluid manipulation – limiting water intake whilst maximising sweat production through the use of sweat suits during extreme exercise bouts, and saunas resulting in dehydration.
- The use of diet pills, laxatives or vomiting.
- Extreme limitation of food intake.
What are the risks?
Short term:
- Increased feelings of tension.
- Decrease in body confidence.
- Dehydration.
- Decrease in performance.
Long Term:
- Unhealthy eating habits carried into adulthood such as restricting food intake then binge eating.
- Development of severe eating disorders.
- Organ failure and death.
This academic study from Franchini et al. published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2012 explains in detail some of the physiological, psychological and performance effects of rapid weight loss in combat sports.
Safeguarding Concerns
Forcing children to cut weight against their will for a competition can be considered a form of abuse from a safeguarding perspective. If you feel that a coach/parent/volunteer is practicing this please report it to your Club’s Safeguarding/Welfare Officer.
Children may be looking at social media and observing other weight-making sports and trying to copy them. If you notice your child or children at your club not eating, avoiding food, or looking faint, please speak to the Club Safeguarding Officer.
Anti-Doping Concerns
It is important to be aware that if any athletes practice taking diuretics, they risk an Anti Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) which could lead to a ban from not just the sport of Wrestling but ALL sports.
If you are unsure if you are taking a banned substance, please check the prohibited list here: 2024 WADA List of Prohibited Substances and Methods. This can also be checked via GlobalDRO.
Weight Management
If a coach says that your child needs to lose or gain weight, or if you’re concerned about your child’s eating habits, please talk to your doctor. The doctor can work with you or refer you to a dietitian to develop a healthy eating plan for your young athlete.
Athletes need to consume the right amount and mix of foods and drinks to support their higher level of activity whilst training and competing. That mix is probably not too different to a normal healthy diet. Eating for sports should be another part of healthy eating for life.
Remember that restricting a child’s food or liquid intake is neglect and a form of child abuse.
Below is some advice for athletes on how to manage their weight. If they have more detailed questions, they must seek out advice from a professional sports dietician.
